‘Supercharged’ Immunotherapy Could Target Mesothelioma Cell Protein

Standard mesothelioma treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and multimodal therapy. These standard therapies do not offer a cure for people with mesothelioma, and that’s why scientists continue searching for better ways to treat the disease. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, have created a precision medicine approach that targets a protein on the surface of cancer cells to kill tumors. Although the drug was not specifically designed for mesothelioma patients, it may offer a more effective way to manage the disease in the future. The treatment is a type of immunotherapy that uses antibodies created in a lab. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug for the treatment of a type of leukemia. Supercharged Immunotherapy Scripps researchers call the new immunotherapy “T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies,” or simply bispecific antibodies. Details of the novel drug were published May 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new approach aims to bring powerful immune cells right to the tumor. This should prompt the patient’s immune system to attack and destroy the tumor. Bispecific antibodies are an immunotherapy treatment, but they are a supercharged version of existing immunotherapies. Existing versions use one antibody, while bispecific antibodies include two antibodies in one drug. Cancer Can Derail Immune Response Many cancers have the ability to flip a switch...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: news